


Lights Out

by Canadiantardis



Series: Whumptober 2020 [27]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Fear, Gen, Hospitals, Kid Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Kid Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Kid Fic, Mentions of Cancer, Power Outage, scared of the dark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:00:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27128260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Canadiantardis/pseuds/Canadiantardis
Summary: Virgil hated the hospital.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders
Series: Whumptober 2020 [27]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1920886
Comments: 15
Kudos: 51





	Lights Out

**Author's Note:**

> Day 27: Power outage  
> So, I know that hospitals have generators, but just, stay with me here. I decided that the hospital's generators take time to start on everything that isn't in the ER or surgeries, where it is excruciatingly vital for power to be on, and then after a minute or so power is back on everywhere else too.  
> Just so yall don't try to correct me, hehe.  
> Anyway, enjoy!

Virgil _hated_ the hospital. It was too huge, too many sick people, too many doctors with masks over their faces like they were in the middle of a pandemic, too many gurneys bringing people to and from places, with the patients on-board either awake or completely knocked out.

Virgil stayed in the kids section - not that he really could leave without a supervisor, but like he was ever going to leave the kids section if he didn’t have to - because it was less crowded. A lot of the resident kids who had been here longer than him even never left their rooms often unless they were encouraged to walk around and get some fresh air either through a little walk-out balcony, or at the little playground that was really just a four-person swing set.

He was currently on one of those encouraged walks, carefully shuffling his slippered feet with a hand on his IV stand, wheeling it beside him. One of the wheels was squeaky and another wasn’t working properly, which made the stand try very hard to fall behind, but by now Virgil had gotten used to it and was able to move with it barely catching on anything at all. He had been living in the hospital for the past two months now, since he had been diagnosed with lymphoma. He wasn’t too sick right now, which was why Nurse Liez suggested he go for a little walk so he doesn’t become a ‘bed potato’ or whatever they made up this time.

Supper just ended, or was still just starting, he realized as he passed the big trolley of food and the worker who handed the food out. Virgil only looked into the room the trolley was outside of once, for curiosity’s sake, and saw a few older kids sitting up in their beds, nasal cannulas letting them breathe better. Virgil was relieved he doesn’t have breathing problems… _yet,_ a small, mean voice in his head whispers, _he doesn’t have breathing problems yet._

He shook the mean voice away as he continued his little walk, before the lights flickered. Virgil stopped dead in his tracks, eyes wide, and he gripped the stand with both hands, having it in front of him.

The hallway was one that was closer to the middle of the kids section of the entire hospital. The only source of light came from the many, many, many lights overhead. There was another flicker, so quick it was like Virgil had blinked, but he knew he hadn’t, he had had his eyes wide, wide open.

Then the lights went out, and Virgil could not see even the little reflection the IV stand would give if there was even a itty bitty, teeny bit of light around.

He wanted to scream, even opened his mouth to give a shriek, but found his throat choking up, and he couldn’t even breathe. It was too dark. He couldn’t see. He didn’t know where he was.

A few kids in the distance screamed too, so at least he knew he wasn’t alone where the power went out around from. But the thing was, the kids who screamed, who he could manage to hear, sounded ages and ages and so far away. _What happened to the kids nearby???_ He knew he was by rooms, and if he could move, maybe he would have hurried to a wall to find a door and find a safe place to hide until the lights came on, or until a nurse or doctor or some other adult in the kids section of the hospital found him and kept him safe and brought him back to his room so he could hide under the blankets and just pretend the darkness was simply from the lights being turned off for the nighttime.

See, Virgil had a big fear of the dark. He knew it was dumb and something little kids were afraid of. At least that’s what he’d been teased about back at school, before he got really sick and found out he had cancer. And he had thought he had been getting better at being okay in the dark, but this… This wasn’t average darkness...

This was _advanced darkness._

Virgil barely felt his breathing pick up, a loud ringing in his ears that drowned out the other kids who still screamed due to the lights being gone and everyone was suddenly in darkness. He didn’t know where anything was, only the IV stand in his hands, and he felt tears prick the corners of his eyes as he tried his hardest not to cry like a big baby.

He shook, the squeaky wheel the only indicator that he was shaking as it made the smallest and quickest of noises from moving in place.

Then, he saw it. The smallest pinprick of light, off to his right and when had he been facing the wall? He thought he had been moving forward when the lights went off and he was sure he hadn’t turned at all, but maybe he had?

The light moved like a will-o-wisp, but it wasn’t blue or fairy-like or anything like that. It was yellow and bounced around as whoever held it moved erratically. Whoever held the light seemed to notice him and hurried footfalls came in his direction.

“Are you okay?” The voice sounded kid-ish, maybe just a bit older. Virgil didn’t even need to answer before they continued. “Yeah, I don’t like the dark much too. I always have to keep a flashlight on me.”

Virgil tried to peer into the new light to see the face of the kid but it was difficult until the other kid turned the light down the hall rather than just on him, and even then, he only got the outline. He was taller by a few inches, and had straight or very lightly wavy hair, cut short. He also wore hospital wear. Another patient like him.

“Were you on a walk when the lights went off?” Virgil nodded, finding it hard to speak. “I’m sorry! But you’re okay now! I’m here! I was on my way back from the swings to eat.”

They were quiet for maybe a second before the kid was speaking again.

“Oh! Where are my manners!” A hand was stuck out in front of the light for Virgil to see. “My name’s Roman! Roman Kingsley! What’s yours?”

Virgil struggles to get the two words out, shakily letting one hand go of the IV stand and shaking the other kid’s - Roman’s - hand. “Virgil Storm.”

“That’s such a cool name!!” Roman enthused, and the light jiggled as he bounced on his feet, and just then, the overhead lights went on, blinding the two momentarily and suddenly. “Ah!”

He wasn’t the only one to scream at the lights coming back on, as a chorus of surprised kids came from the distance.

Blinking rapidly, Virgil turned to the kid who had come over and saw brown hair, brown eyes, and dark tanned skin and a bright smile on his face when Roman could see again.

“Do you want me to walk you to your room in case the lights go out again?” He asked, clicking his flashlight off. “I don’t think the lights will go off again, but it’s better to have a dashing companion with you in case you need help again!”

Virgil barely nodded before the kid was already leading the way, back the way Virgil had walked, and soon took his finger-pointing to keep the right directions as nurses and a couple doctors saw them, looks of relief on their faces.

Still, Virgil _hated_ hospitals, maybe now a little bit more.

**Author's Note:**

> This story is part of the [ LLF Comment Project](https://longlivefeedback.tumblr.com/llfcommentproject), which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites and appreciates feedback, including:  
> Feedback
> 
>   * Short comments
>   * Long comments
>   * Questions
>   * “<3” as extra kudos
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